A Day of Rejoicing

"Be quiet in the midst of your grief, so He may not awaken. Weep in silence, so that your tears may be pearls of love for Him. Cover Him with your tender caresses, with your timid but ardent kisses. Open your eyes, "the illuminated eyes of your heart," to contemplate the hidden beauty of Jesus asleep. One day - a day of rejoicing, of light, of rapture - Jesus will awake and upon seeing that you have offered him the warm, silent perfumed couch of your heart, and that you have watched tenderly and solicitously during this slumber of love, He will command the winds and the tempest so that the peace of heaven may reign in you and in the depth of that most sweet peace, the mystery of love will be realized, happy and never-ending."

Nicholas Ambrose Martin

2/24/10 at 11:57PM

8 lbs. 11 oz., 21 1/2 inches

A Weighty Sub-Issue

I saw earlier on Facebook today a weighty thread regarding women getting one step closer to being allowed to work on submarines that was posted by a friend of mine. It was a heated yet very informed discussion. I agree with one of the main "posters" in the thread that women should not be allowed to work on subs because of the issues of non-communication for extensive periods of time and the numerous accomodations that would have to be made for women that may put the majority (men) at risk while trying to do their jobs. Of course, some of those who were weighing in were arguing from the stance of equal rights for women and likening the situation to women working for Nasa. Hmm? Not really an apples to apples there! One of the last "posters" made a comment about how she'd felt like she'd been beaten up and was being preached to. I felt like sending her a "Hurt Feelings Report"...of course, I won't do that. But don't you think many of these issues go into the emotional category and get eased into legislation without very much regard for the practical issues of the matter? Saddening really!

A Post for My Biggest Fan!

Someday I'm going to own a pair of boots like this, and I'll buy them to please one special person! This is for my DH, Paul, who loves western anything, and who made a cute comment about my blog this morning at about 5:45AM. Love you, sweetie!;)

AND...

I've been feeling a bit like this these days!

I'm definately going to be along for the ride any day now with this little baby!

The Chair of St. Peter

I was trying to think last night of what to do with some of the kids to celebrate The Chair of St. Peter and ran across 2 lessons we never got around to from Family Formation. Of course, I can always count on "The Church" to help me with our homeschool, and God always seems to have my back with these kinds of things! Here are 2 of the girls working on their chair & papal crown coloring pages.

Here are a few pics of Maria working on our domestic -Universal Church visuals. This is great! First you have the individual who becomes a member of the Church at Baptism.

Then you have the family!

The family forms the domestic Church so here is Maria putting a little house over the family.

Now you have the parish so she's fitting the parish over the house.

Now you have the diocese so she is fitting a cathedral over the parish.

Then you have the Universal Church represented by the Vatican so Maria is fitting a replica of St. Peter's Basilica over the cathedral!

Isn't this great! We were able to review a few questions about what the girls learned this month at Family Formation regarding apostolic succession, the popes, the 4 marks of the Church, and how we are all part of the Body of Christ.

2010 Lenten Activities

Here are a few of our Lenten Activities for this year.

Our Lenten Calendar from Family Formation

And these two are my favorites...our Lenten Family Sacrifices which I decided to post so we can all help each other out to attain our Lenten goals. Isn't that what family is for? The second photo is a new idea I had to transition from our prize bin (which included a lot of candy!) to a sacrifice jar. I'll still keep track of the kids' daily good deeds (can't have them slacking off!), but instead of prizes they will take a grain of wild rice (perfect...they are blackish brown and look like thorns!) and add it to the larger vase. We'll count them all up at the end of Lent to make a donation to our favorite charity or just make a donation to our parish. Then the kids will get a group prize sometime during Easter to celebrate their efforts and all the beautiful Lenten sacrifices.

Small Successes vol. 1

Over at Faith & Family Live every Thursday several Catholic moms post three of their small successes for the week. I think I need to acknowledge my small successes because it's been a rocky, uncomfortable, and penitential week. I just need to reflect and see that God loves me SO MUCH...as Gabe would say.:)

1. I let go of not being able to get to Mass for Ash Wednesday because Gabe and I were both not feeling well. Gabe was sick with the stomach virus that has been roaring through our house, and I have terrible back labor so it's almost impossible to sit for a long period of time. Not the Lenten start I would have wanted, but it feels good to let go.

2. Was able to get the kids' Lenten activity charts and our family sacrifices listed and posted.

3. Was able to get my food packed for the hospital, the bassinette set up, and the boy bin of clothes located, sorted, and washed for our newest arrival...it'll be any day now!

A Day for Artists

Today is the feast day of Blessed John of Fiesole better known as Fra Angelico. This beautiful painting of the Annunciation quickly came to mind.

The other beautiful thing we are celebrating today is Maria's baptismal day! On February 18th, 2001 our sweet baby, Maria, became a member of the Church. How appropriate that Fra Angelico is the patron saint of artists, and we've always considered Maria our little artist in residence! Here's one of her most recent works of art.

The Bag that Counted Today!

Over at Faith & Family Live they are promoting "The 40 Bag Challenge." The challenge: 40 bags either donated, sold, or pitched for each of the 40 days of Lent. I was very impressed with this, and we actually put together a bag of stuff to donate today...or at least the kids did. However, the most important bag I put together is the one you see above. This is my bag of hospital food. There's my scale in the background. This bag contains weighed portions of non-perishables, and, although I'll eat my main meals from the hospital, at least I can count on the accuracy of these portions. This is why abstinence from food during Lent loses a sense of the sacrificial for me. When you weigh and measure your food daily, Lent almost needs an extra bit of sting. I'm hoping that through the rest of this pregnancy and having a newborn, I'll have plenty to offer up. I just hope I remember this post during the labor, delivery, and those incessant sleepless nights.;)

What I wanted to do...

but didn't get a chance to because I accidentally deleted my photos in my Daybook post was to post pics of our gumbo and King Cake.



Also, I had to include this pic of 3 of the kids decorating the cake...I think they loved dipping their hands in the colored sugar & going to town on that cake! I also like this photo of Monica at last year's Mardi Gras party. I didn't make these cookies this year...it was enough to make the King Cake! But I think our Krewe had a wonderful time celebrating.:)

My Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...snow and yummy sunshine.:)
I am thinking...about the quiet, reflective Lent I want to have with my sweet Paul and the kids as I hear the brood noisily downstairs and feel the baby in my womb kicking up a storm. One can hope!
I am thankful for...the beautiful celebration of Mardi Gras we had tonight. We've celebrated Mardi Gras for years and this one was no different. I made a King Cake with the kids and later stewed a pot of shrimp and sausage gumbo for the Cajun lover in my DH!

From the learning rooms...we are still trying to finish up our unit on the Ancient Aztec civilization, trying to keep up with the daily work schedules for the other subjects, and Lucas is making great strides in reading. It's incredible what 10-15 minutes/day does with him.
From the kitchen...I enjoyed baking and using my cast iron Dutch oven to make the gumbo. I look forward to cooking up a couple dishes tomorrow - Mexican salmon and potato "albondigas" for the family before heading to Mass in the evening.
I am wearing...my favorite jeans, my Danskos, and a black scrunched tee with my turquoise earrings.
I am creating...a baby in my womb with God's help.:)
I am going...to take a bath later and enjoy my awesome belated Valentine's gift from my sweet Paul...Sade's Love Deluxe CD. I lost the last 2 copies I had by 1) car accident and 2) car theft.:(
I am reading..."When Jesus Sleeps" by Luis M. Martinez
I am hoping...to get to bed earlier tonight and only have to get up twice tonight for bathroom runs.
I am hearing...the kids watch their last viewing of the Olympics downstairs before the "no TV" rule goes into effect tomorrow and Monte Warden's "A Stranger to Me Now" on CD...another belated gift from my DH, Paul.
Around the house...there is a kitchen and a dining room that still need to be cleaned up and laundry downstairs that needs to be changed out. Ugh!
One of my favorite things...the cute kicks from the baby!
A few plans for the rest of the week: Post pics of our Lenten calendar and Sr. Sincere weekly Lenten countdown, burying the Alleluia with the kids tomorrow, Jane's audiology and EKG appointments Thursday, and the girls' American Girls party on Saturday.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

I'm glad I can count on Gabe to help me in the kitchen! Here he is buttering the dough before I sprinkled it with cinnamon & sugar, rolled it, baked it and had the kids decorate it to make the King Cake.

See more daybooks at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Illness Taketh Over

Everyone's dropping like flies over here. We've been overtaken by a stomach virus. Thankfully, it's all relative just like winter. I woke up every morning last week to 1, 0, and -5 degree weather, and it never phased me! Now when I hear someone in a bathroom somewhere tossing their chips, I'm not phased at all. Problem is I think I'm next! The thought of delivering this baby on top of having a stomach bug is a bit overwhelming. Also, I don't eat a lot and love the food I do eat so the thought of not being able to eat for a whole day is very sad for me. I am consoled, however, by this cute little heart sitting on my desk that Paul drew on the envelope of the Valentine card he gave me. I love the way he draws these every year on the envelopes. It just looks so cute!

On a lighter note, we had a fun Valentine's dinner yesterday, and the kids did a spontaneous "Mass" for those sick ones who couldn't go. I'll upload pics later when everyone's firing on stabler cylinders!;)

St. Valentine's Day Banner

For making a banner like this one

you will need the following:

Start with an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of card stock and mark off 5 inches for the base of your triangle. From the vertex to the base, measure off 6 inches. Cut out your triangle and use it as a template for the other triangles that will be the backgrounds for your letters.

Take a strip of lace, glue it to the base of the triangle to create a top border, and trim off the edges.

Glue the triangle to a contrasting piece of cardstock, take a decorative edge craft scissor, and cut a border around all sides of the triangle.


Use stencils to create letters for your banner's message or use punch out letters from craft paper that is as heavy a weight as cardstock. Our message says, "Love Is Of God." Glue one letter to each of the triangles making sure you center on the triangle.

Next, take the hole puncher and punch two holes into the top two corners of each triangle. You will feed your hanging string through these holes.

Now feed the string (I used kitchen twine!) through the top two holes stringing each letter in the sequence you want your message read.

Hang up your banner, and enjoy!